Clamp releasing means for rotary duplicating machine



Aug. 27, 1957 c. A. LEVIN ET AL CLAMP RELEASING MEANS FOR ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINE Original Filed April 25, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Carl H! Lavin BY Ra her? W. Quirk Z 6 1. (B mi. a DUh-nuv 9 ATTORNEY? Aug. 27, 1957 c. A, L vm ETAL 2,804,014

CLAMP RELEASING MEANS FOR ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINE Original Filed April 25, 1949 s She ets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Carl Levin;

Aug. 27, 1957 c. A. LEVIN E L 2,804,014

CLAMP REL-EASING MEANS FOR ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINE Original Filed April 25. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States CLAMP RELEASING MEANS FDR ROTARY DUPLICATING MACHINE Carl A. Levin, Park Ridge, 111., and Robert W. Quirk, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to Ditto, incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of West Virginia Original application April 25, 1949, Serial No. 89,384, now Patent No. 2,661,686, dated December 8, 1953. Divided and this application December 3, 1953, Serial No. 395,954

Claims. (Ci. Mil-132.5)

This invention relates to clamp releasing means for rotary duplicating machines, and more particularly to a clamping device for the master sheet of a liquid process duplicating machine. The present application is a division of our application Serial No. 89,384, filed April 25, 1949, for Duplicating Machine.

It is an important purpose of our invention to provide a new and improved master clamping means for securing the master on the drum of a duplicating machine and new and improved operating means for moving said clamping means into and out of master clamping position.

'More particularly, it is an object of our invention to provide a mechanism mounted on the frame of the machine which can be manually set into a master release or clamp release position. Then, as the drum rotates into its master changing position, the clamp Will be automatically opened.

In connection with a device of this type, it is necessary to provide mechanical engagement between one part which is mounted on the frame, and another part which is mounted on the drum and rotates therewith.

It is another object of our invention to locate these parts at a point near the drum axis in order to avoid the mechanical shock that would occur if the parts were located near the periphery.

A still further object is to so shape the engaging parts that a high mechanical advantage is provided to the end that the inertia of the drum can be utilized to facilitate the opening of the clamp against the comparatively heavy spring tension which is provided to maintain the clamp in closed position, thus contributing to ease and smoothness of operation.

In this connection the member carried by the drum and which is engaged by the manually actuated mechanism, is in the form of a lever having a portion which extends toward the axis of the drum but in a generally tangential direction so as to provide a cam surface which extends throughout a substantial extent of are. This arrangement provides much smoother operation than if a cam of the same length were located at the periphery of the drum.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. We desire to have it understood, however, that we do not intend to limit ourselves to the particular details shown or described, except as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through the machine forming the subject matter of our invention, partly broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the drum, as viewed from the left end thereof, Fig. 2, showing the clamping means and operating means therefor in master clamping posiice tion in full lines and in master releasing position in dotted lines, a fragment of a side plate being shown in elevation, and the drum shaft being in section.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional. view, taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows, the parts being shown in full lines with the master clamping means in master clamping position and in dotted lines with the master clamping means in master releasing position, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view somewhat similar to Fig. 5 but being taken somewhat forwardly thereof so as to show the cooperation of the two levers 266 and 292, in greater detail.

The duplicating machine includes a drum 15, and a pressure roller 277 which cooperates therewith. Disposed in front of the drum and pressure roller, which is to the left, as shown in Fig. l, and in substantial alignment with the bite thereof, is a pair of combined feeding and moistening rollers 79 and 251, respectively. Disposed in front of the latter rollers is a feed tray which is adapted to support a stack of sheets. A primary feeding roller 10!) is adapted to rest on the feed tray 140 or on the stack of sheets supported thereby, and is disposed in substantial alignment with the bite of the feeding and moistening rollers 79 and 251, and with the bite of the drum 15 and pressure roller 277.

Means comprising a supply tank 192, suitable pump and conduit means, not shown, a perforated feed tube 170, and wiping element 156 are provided for supplying a film of moisture to the moistening and feeding rollers 79 in a manner substantially similar to that pointed out in Quirk Patent No. 2,659,303, dated Nov. 17, 1953.

The combined feeding and moistening rollers 79 and 251 are intermittently driven from the drum 15 by suitable means, as shown in the aforesaid patent application Serial No. 89,384.

Referring in detail to the drawings, our improved duplicating machine is provided with a frame that includes a pair of side plates 10 and 11, which are connected by means of a plurality of transverse frame members 12. A shaft 13 is journaled in suitable bearings 14 mounted in the side plates 10 and 11. The drum 15 is mounted on the shaft 13 to rotate therewith, hub portions 16 being provided from which the spokes 17 extend to the rim portion of the drum, said hub portions being tired in position on the shaft 13.

The shaft 13 may be driven in any suitable manner, being shown as being rotated by means of the crank 18, which is provided with a suitable handle 19. The direction of rotation of the drum is counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1, and clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3, arrows being provided on Figs. 1 and 3 to indicate the direction of rotation of said drum.

The side plates 10 and 11 have sheet metal cover plates 29 and 3t) detachably mounted thereon providing housings for the driving means for the drum and other moving parts. For instance, suitable gearing between crank 13 and shaft 13 may be disposed within cover plate 29, and the intermittent driving connection between the drum and the rollers 79 and 251 may be disposed within the cover plate 30.

Before describing the clamping means itself, reference will first be made to certain elements of the mechanism. which actuates the clamping means.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a pin 265 is mounted in the lower portion of the side plate 11. A lever 266 is pivoted on pin 265, a suitable washer being provided between the side plate 11 and the lever 266 to space said lever from said side plate. The lever 266 has a slot 267 therein, in which a pin 268 operates that projects from a lever 269, which is pivoted to the side plate 11 at 270, and; which has an upwardly extending arm 271 that has an angular end 329 terminating in a finger piece 272 extending transversely across one end of the drum for operating said lever. When the lever 269 is in the position shown in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, movement of the finger piece 272 to the left (in Fig. 3) will cause the lever 266 to swing counter-clockwise about the pivot pin 265,, and movement of the finger piece to the right from the full line to dotted line position in Fig. 3 will cause the lever 266 to swing clockwise about the pivot 265.

The upper end of the lever 266 has; a laterally offset portion 291, which is adapted to engage under the offset portion 331 of a lever 292 that is pivotally mounted on the drum by means of a shaft 293' (Fig. 6), one of the spokes 17 being provided with an enlargement 294 providing a bearing for the shaft 293. When the upper end of the lever 266 has the portion 291 thereof in a position to support the lever 292, said lever 292 will be moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 upon rotation of the drum 15 to a position such that the lever 292 will be engaged by said laterally extending portion 291 of the lever 266. However, if the operating finger piece 272 on the finger 271 is swung to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, or to the full line position shown in Fig. 3, the pin 268 operating in the slot 267 will move the upper end of the lever 266 out of such a position that it would engage with the lever 292 and the lever 292 will then pass the portion 291 of the lever 266 without being moved to a raised position. The lever 292 has a spring 332 secured in an opening therein and to a pin 333 projecting from the end wall of the drum 15, which serves to hold the member 292 from moving downwardly into engagement with the end 291 of the lever 166 when the parts are in the full line position shown in Fig. 3.

The cam edge of lever 292 is provided with a notchlike portion 292a, as shown in Fig. 6. Since this cam edge is engaged by the bent portion 291 of lever 266, the notch-like portion 292a serves as a detent, which gives an indication to the operator that the drum has arrived at the proper position.

The drum 15 has a clamping bar 295 mounted in a transverse slot 296 therein, the drum being provided with an inwardly offset rib portion 297 to provide for the slot 296. Said clamping bar has a lip thereon having an outwardly inclined bottom face 298, which cooperates with the beveled or inclined wall portion 299 of the slot 296 to clamp the edge portion of a master sheet in the beveled portion of the slot. A pair of pins 399 are mounted screw-threadedly in openings 301 in the clamping bar 295 so as to be adjustable in said openings, pins 300 being provided with slots 33% for adjusting the same by means. of a suitable tool. Said pins 399 slidably pass through openings 3% in the bottom wall of the offset portion 297 of the drum and have heads 364- thereon between which and the rib 297 are mounted compression coil springs 395. The springs 395 have a tendency to puli the bar 295 into clamping position in the slot 296. The lever 292 is fixed on the shaft 293 to rotate therewith and there is a pair of fingers 366 fixed on the shaft to rotate therewith, as shown in Fig. 5, said fingers having tapering end portions 334 and having fiat faces engaging under the heads 3% on the pins 295 due to the pull exerted by the light spring 332. When the lever 292 is held in the position shown in Fig. l by the lever 266, the springs 395 are compressed and clamping bar 295 is moved to releasing position by the fingers 3496, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. This will take place once during each rotation of the drum 15 if the finger piece 272 is in the position shown in Fig. l and in dotted lines in Fig. 3. However, if the finger piece is moved to that position shown in full lines in 3, the support for the lever 292 will be removed and the springs 305 will about the axis of the shaft 293, as viewed in Fig. l, to the full line position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and when the finger piece is in that position the drum can rotate as many times as may be desired without releasing the master from the drum by release of the clamping means.

In operation, the master is clamped in position on the drum 15, this being accomplished by raising the clamping member by means of the operating handle 272 and placing one edge of the master in position under the clamping member 295 under the inclined wall 298 of the lip thereon. After the master is properly arranged on the drum, the clamping means is released by operation of the finger piece 272.

When it is desired to make a plurality of copies from one master, the lever 271 is moved to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 by means of the finger piece 272, but if only one copy is desired the lever 271 is retained in dotted line position, which will cause the master to be released when the lever 292 reaches a position to engage the portion 291 of the lever 266. Whenever it is desired to released the master this can be done by either rotating the drum 15 to the proper position and'moving the finger piece 272 to the dotted position shown in Fig. 3,

or first moving said finger piece 272 to said dotted position and then rotating the drum until the gripping means releases the master upon engagement of the portion 291 of the lever 266 with the lever 292.

We claim:

1. In a duplicating machine, a frame, a drum mounted for rotation in said frame, said drum having a groove therein, master clamping means mounted in said groove, resilient means for moving said clamping means in a clamping direction, and releasing means for releasing said clamping means, said releasing means comprising a lever pivotally mounted on said drum, and extending toward the axis of said drum but in a generally tangential direction, said lever having an inner edge which faces said drum axis and an outer edge which faces the periphery of said drum, a portion of said inner edge being located close to said drum axis so as to provide a cam surface which extends throughout a substantial extent of arc, finger means mounted on said drum and movable with said lever and engaging a portion of said clamping means to move said clamping means out of clamping position against the action of said resilient means, and a shiftable member mounted on said frame and having a portion located close to said drum axis, said shiftable member being shiftable outwardly and away from said drum axis into a position in which it engages said cam surface at a cam zone close to the drum axis to move said clamping means out of clamping position.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which said cam surface is provided with a notch-like portion which serves as a detent to indicate to the operator that angular position of the drum in which said cam surface is engaged by said shiftable member.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which said shiftable member is in the form of a lever pivotally mounted on said frame and having a bent-over end portion providing an edge for engagement with said cam surface.

4. The combination claimed in claim 1 which includes a manually actuated control lever mounted on said frame and having a portion engaging said shiftable member for controlling the position of said shiftable member.

5. Control means for the master clamp of a duplicating machine having a frame, a drum rotatably mounted on said frame, and. master clamping means mounted on said drum and which includes a clamping portion disposed on the drum surface, a displaceable member extending beneath the drum surface for actuating said clamping means, and resilient means for urging said clamping means into clamped position, saidcontrol means comprising a shaft journaled within said drum and having finger means engaging said displaceable member, a lever mounted on the end of said shaft and being accessible from the end of said drum and projecting toward the axis of said drum but in a generally tangential direction, said lever having an inner edge which faces said drum axis and an outer edge which faces the periphery of said drum, a portion of said inner edge being located close to said drum axis to provide an inner edge portion which is located close to said drum axis, and a shiftable member mounted on said frame and having a portion located between said inner edge portion of said lever and said drum axis, said shiftable member being shiftable radially outward away from said drum axis so that rotation of said drum will cause said inner edge portion to engage said shiftable member at a point close to said drum axis as said drum rotates into said first-mentioned angular position and so that the inertia of said drum can be utilized to facilitate the opening of said clamping means against the bias of said resilient means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,185,188 Flanigan Ian. 2, 1940 2,220,282 Ritzerfeld Nov. 5, 1940 2,268,045 Marchev Dec. 30, 1941 2,479,865 Robinson Aug. 23, 1949 2,597,804 Keil May 20, 1952 2,622,517 Denison et a1 Dec. 23, 1952 

